Missile Division (미사일 사단), Ministry of the People's Armed Forces (인민무력성), National Defense Commission (국방위원회) [Note: the Missile Division under the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces has been operating all missile bases after the 1998 merger of the Scu

Facility Status:

North Korea reportedly began construction of the Kumcheon missile base in 1992 or 1993, and construction of the base was reportedly nearing completion in March 2001. According to U.S. and South Korean military authorities, the base has an underground launch facility and tunnels for transporting the missiles. The Chosun Ilbo reports that Kumcheon is a base for Hwasong-6 [Scud-C] missiles; however, other reports only say it is a "Scud missile" base. [Note: Given that the Hwasong-5 and Hwasong-6 have the same dimensions, it appears likely that the facility is technically capable of handling both missiles.

Country Profile

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright 2018.